Michigan State recently picked up their 5th commitment for the class of 2011 when Andre Sims Jr. of Brookwood High School in Georgia selected the Spartans. SpartansMag.com has the details on the newest member of the Green and White.

Spartanmag.com was able to speak with Andre Sims, the father of Andre Sims Jr. and he confirmed to us that his son had indeed verbally committed to Michigan State University.

"Yes, AJ committed to Michigan State University. He called them up and decided that is where he wanted to go. We visited Michigan State a few weeks ago and really enjoyed everything about the school. It was the second time we have been up there. We also came up last fall for the Michigan State vs. Michigan game."

Michigan State was the first school to offers Sims, but he was receiving plenty of interest from other BCS programs. Schools like Virginia Tech and LSU were showing plenty of interest in the 5-foot-9, 175-pound prospect. We asked Mr. Sims what it was that made Michigan State stand out to his son?

"More than anything it had to do with the coaches. AJ is a Christian and we were very impressed with the entire staff and how well grounded they were and how they also welcomed and encouraged faith. That meant a lot to AJ as well as to his family. Knowing the type of people the coaches are made it an easy decision for AJ to want to play at Michigan State. He also loved everything else about the schools in addition to football. We have always raised AJ to think about life outside of football and we know that even if football was taken away that Michigan State would be a great place to spend the next 4-years of his life and receive his education.

Sims Jr. is a very conscientious student and the fact that Michigan State has strong academic programs in his fields of interest was also a positive factor.

AJ has talked about majoring in possibly journalism, broadcasting or business. Michigan State has excellent program in those fields and getting a degree from Michigan State in any of those areas would mean a lot.

Mr. Sims actually works for an airline and the ability to easily travel up to East Lansing means that Sims Jr. will be on campus many times over the coming months.

"We will be back up there for camp. Coach Dantonio indicated that he wants all of the committed players to attend camp to improve their skills and work with the coaches. We also plan on coming up several times this fall and learning our way around the area. When AJ does arrive at Michigan State officially I want he to be completely comfortable with the school and the surroundings."

On eth football field Sims has made his mark mainly of the offensive side of the ball. As a junior he caught 57 passes for 917-yards and scored 9-touchdowns. He also played special teams and a little bit of defense. In his limited time as a defensive back and a returner he was impressive.

The commitment of Sims not only marks the 5th commitment to the class of 2011, but gives Mark Dantonio another player from Georgia. Last year the Spartans inked two players from the Peach State. In addition to Michigan and Ohio, Georgia has been the Spartans most fertile recruiting ground.

As will all Georgia products, Michigan State Coach Dave Warner served as the primary recruiter of Sims Jr. for the Spartans. Coach Warner does a great job of building rapport with prospective players and getting them on campus. The early commitment of Sims Jr. to Michigan State is a testament to that.

Look for more on Sims and his commitment to Michigan State in the near future.